Hi all. Lately I've been getting into RPG music. I have FFX and really enjoy that one. I also have Suikoden III and thought it was pretty good. The battle themes in my opinion sound kind of hokey (for lack of a better word). So I was thinking about picking up some other RPG soundtracks and I have read the reviews here, but I was hoping for more impressions from anyone who may have the following soundtracks:---Grandia III---Final Fantasy XII---Valyrie Profile 2---Suikoden V

Grandia III - hmm...it was okay. I'd strongly recommend you look into Grandia I or II, as III is the worst among them IMO.

Final Fantasy XII - read my review. It's the worst thing I've ever heard out of Sakimoto. Doesn't fit my idea of FF, or Ivalice, in the least. I was pissed.

VP2 - If you're a Sakuraba fan, this is a great one to add to the collection. The only thing better he's done in recent years, IMO, are the Baten Kaitos albums.

Suikoden V - Easily one of the best Suikoden soundtracks out there. It's definitely better than III and IV, and I...I'd say it's tied with II. Much like the game itself, the soundtrack is really good.

Some personal recommendations:

- If you are interested, the arranged albums made are sometimes well worth it, even if you consider yourself an "OST-only" person. Xenogears: CREID, and any Square-produced Piano album is made of solid golden perfection.

- If you wanna listen to RPG music for games you don't have much familiarity with, start with this company: FALCOM.

- I recently became addicted to music from Gust's sound team, so the Atelier series + Ar tonelico is a good bet if you are like-minded on this point.

Suikoden V has a great soundtrack. But just like every other Suikoden game, it's not one that I'd listen to outside of the game. Take that as you will. :P

Valkyrie Profile 2 is pretty good sound wise. It could have used more uptempo numbers along the lines of the first game, though. Too many Baten Kaitos-esque slow tunes for my taste.

FFXII's music peaked at the fucking title screen. It's a fact, yo. :P

As for other recommendations, like Ramza said, Falcom doesn't disappoint. Pick up any of the ten thousand versions of the Ys I and II OSTs and be impressed. I'm also a fan of Michiko Naruke, the lady who scores the Wild ARMs series (except the newest one apparently, damn it).

Also, every single Castlevania game after and including Symphony of the Night has a fantastic soundtrack. Hell, most of the ones before that did too, but there hasn't been a single misstep since that game came out. I'm particularly fond of the Curse of Darkness OST.

Thanks for the replys. In terms of FFXII I have not exactly been enjoying the music and I'm very near the end of the game. It seems rather monotous sounding. Doesn't really have any character to it. I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't draw me into the game....doesn't necessarily detract but it is lacking.

Grandia III sounds good so far, but I can't find Grandia I or II music anywhere unless you go to import sites which I'd rather not do.

Suikoden V I have but haven't played it yet. I was hoping it was better than III. If the music is better than III then I'll get it but only if it is good to listen to while drawing or reading.

Most everything that needs to be said has already been covered, but I feel like chiming in anyway.DR's got it right with the Castlevanias. Great tunes. Still havent played Curse yet, though. I need to pick that up.

Y's Y's Y's - I have all sorts of Y's cds but the original soundtrack to Y's I & II remains my favorite. Y's III was quite good as well.

I agree on FFXII. While the music doesn't outright offend me, it is certanly nothing memorable. My fav FF ST's were IV & VI.

The Chrono games have great music. I prefer Trigger over Cross.

I stopped playing Suiko V due to boredom. The music didn't do much for me either. I can't recall a single tune.

No one else ever brings it up, but I love the ST to Dungeon Explorer II for the TGCD. The game didn't do much for me, but I still listen to the music after all these years. Great stuff.Same with Gates and Lords of Thunder, if rock is your thing.

There's been very little good music in games lately. My personals faves of tyhe last few years are Skies of Arcadia, Dark Cloud 2, and Okami.

Well, is the Chrono Cross soundtrack really that good? I have the game but never played that far into it yet. I'm worried about sound quality. I bought Final Fantasy 8 OST and I have to say some tracks are good but others sound low quality maybe due to the fact they were designed for the PS1 hardware. Does Chrono Cross share the same fate?

Y's Y's Y's - I have all sorts of Y's cds but the original soundtrack to Y's I & II remains my favorite. Y's III was quite good as well.

*psycho fan alert*

NO APOSTROPHE!!!!!!!!!!!

Y's = incorrect. It suggests you should pronounce like a plural of the letter "y". As in "Wise."

Ys = correct. Pronounce it as if you were saying "East," but drop the t.

Had to say it. Also, he's right about the music. It's freaking fantastic.

The least memorable Ys soundtrack probably goes to Ys V. Ys IV has good music, but it's RARE stuff. I and II has been reprinted in all shapes and sizes, and is a great buy. III recently had its music remade in "Oath in Felghana" -- awesome soundtrack. Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim is a completely different sound from a whole new era of Falcom...but personally, I liked it.

Finally, Ys Origin has a soundtrack coming out in late March..expect a review from us. :P

Other good Falcom albums? The arranged albums for the Legend of Heroes series is good, and they're still available. All the other good stuff is super-hard to get these days.

Y's Y's Y's - I have all sorts of Y's cds but the original soundtrack to Y's I & II remains my favorite. Y's III was quite good as well.

*psycho fan alert*

NO APOSTROPHE!!!!!!!!!!!

Y's = incorrect. It suggests you should pronounce like a plural of the letter "y". As in "Wise."

Ys = correct. Pronounce it as if you were saying "East," but drop the t.

Had to say it. Also, he's right about the music. It's freaking fantastic.

The least memorable Ys soundtrack probably goes to Ys V. Ys IV has good music, but it's RARE stuff. I and II has been reprinted in all shapes and sizes, and is a great buy. III recently had its music remade in "Oath in Felghana" -- awesome soundtrack. Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim is a completely different sound from a whole new era of Falcom...but personally, I liked it.

Finally, Ys Origin has a soundtrack coming out in late March..expect a review from us. :P

Other good Falcom albums? The arranged albums for the Legend of Heroes series is good, and they're still available. All the other good stuff is super-hard to get these days.

Ramza

HA! Thanks for the correction, Ramza, although I've known the correct pronounciation for quite a long time. It's that dang apostrophe I forget to exclude.

As for Oath in Felghanas music. I actually prefer the original Ys III ST over Oaths. It's still great stuff, of course, but it sounds a bit overdone to me.

I always liked the music to the one Legend of Heroes game I had for the TGCD. Dragon Slayer? I thnk that was the name. I get confused over the names.

If you didn't know, Origins music has many remixes from Ys I and II, and since some said the first two games were their favorite music-wise, you might be for quite a treat, though most of the new arrangements are slower than their original counterparts. This especially hold true for the "Tower of the Shadow of Death (Darm Tower entrance)" song which went from upbeat to completely orchestral. Very nice version though.

I will be covering that particular soundtrack :)

The soundtracks others have mentioned are also great so honestly, you can't go wrong with any.

I recommend:Digital Devil Saga OSTsVagrant StoryBreath of Fire Dragon Quarter(This is easily one of my favorite OSTs of all time)Breath of Fire IVAny Dragon Quest OST. I managed to pick up a rare cd of a live concert on ebay a while back. Very good.Wild Arms 1,3Star Ocean:2nd Story